R.E.S. is not for me!

Fifth grade again today. This time ... not even remotely enjoyable. These two classes that I had pretty much ruined Richlands E. for me. I think I will stick with my Summersill and Morton kids. What a long, long, long day. I was ready to put those students on the bus around oh ... 9 am.

Anyway. We'll see what tomorrow shall bring.

So last Sunday I ended up having to clean my ENTIRE house in one day. To say the least, it was not enjoyable. My feet and back hurt by the time I got done and my mood was so sour! So I decided this morning that I would make a weekly list of chores that I will do everyday to avoid this treacherous day of slaving around the house. Now remember, my house isn't that big so my list isn't too detailed and some things I will do every day (picking up and putting things in their places).

Monday: Vacuum carpets
Tuesday: Clean front bathroom
Wednesday: Clean kitchen (countertops, sweep, mop)
Thursday: Sweep and mop bedroom floors & wash bedding
Friday: Dust
Saturday: Clean out fridge & any yard work
Sunday: Clean back bathroom

I had to break up the bathrooms because I hate to do them so much! I hope this helps to keep my cleaning easier and my mood sunnier!

Well, as you can see, I finished my first quilt. I went out today and picked out fabric for two more. I'm excited to take them all to church to see how pretty they look in our new sanctuary! Okay blog world, I'm going to try to end this day on a happy note. Off to flipping through decorating and cooking magazines (thanks to Mrs. P)!! :)

Rag Quilt! Finally!

So here it is. My first quilt. Ever. It may not be perfect but I'm proud of it!




These were the materials that I started with. A fine swirl print and some basic solid colors to accent it.




All the cutting was finally finished. So many little square sandwiches.





Small squares of fabric turn into bigger squares of fabric turns into a row of frabric that turns into rows and rows of fabric!




The first picture is of the front side sewed together and the second picture is the backside. I know. It looks reversed but trust me, it's the right way!

Almost done ...





Here it is! The final product! You'll have to excuse the little fuzzies of thread. It literally just came out of the dryer!

Hope you enjoyed this fabric metamorphosis. :)

Be sure to check out many more exciting transformations on Between Naps on the Porch!

Making progress!

I just wanted to let you know that I am about 75% of the way done with my first quilt! I have been documenting the process with pictures and will post them soon! I am actually really excited about this quilt and satisfied with giving it to the church. One (almost) done ... many more to go. :)

So as you know, yesterday I subbed in a few pre-K classes. One of the classes I was in, I passed out the afternoon snack which was pineapples. You would be amazed at how excited these children got over leftover pineapples. Anyway. One little girl was sooo excited. She made up a little song about her 'papples' as she called them. This is how our conversation went:

"I love papples!" - Katie (as we'll call her)
"You mean pineapples" - Me
"Yep. Papples." - Katie
"They're called PINEapples, Katie" - Me
"Um, no. Ms. Coale, papples are apples with a plant on top" - Katie
"My mistake." - Me

Yep ... arguing with a four year old gets you nowhere. :)

Dramatic play and high school football

Ever wonder what the day in the life of a pre-K student was like? It's probably just as you'd imagine. Alot of playing! I started my day as a daughter to two pre-K girls, then I made Lego transformers, and then I ate some Play-Doh fried chicken. In the next pre-K class, I was a doctor, sand castle architect, and doll house security guard.

It was an eventful morning. Then it was time for recess and lunch. Who knew it took pre-K students 45 minutes to eat lunch! You should have seen their faces when we served them turkey delight (turkey pieces drowned in gravy). They pretty much ate pineapples and chocolate milk for lunch.

So even though it was not my dream day working with my dream age group, I think it paid off. At the end of the day the principal wanted to meet with me and talk to me for a little bit. He was my A.P. in high school so it was nice to catch up and let him know I was interested in teaching. Connections! Praise Jesus!

So another blast from the past ... Sam and I went to my old high school's last football game of the season. What a good time! Good football game, good marching band, great company. I reminisced alot during the game just thinking about how much God has brought me through in eight years, going on nine. Eight years ago, I was just starting out in the marching band, high school, my walk with God, learning who I was. I know it's said quite often but it really does feel like just last year I was walking across the track for senior night. How quickly time goes by!

It's even weird to think that just two years ago Sam went to a football game, freezing again, to watch the marching band. And now we're married!

P.S. Montages in movies are my favorite part!

Anyway ... I'll end on some scripture regarding to the path of life and the crazy, unexpected turns it takes us on.

"You show me the path of life. In Your presence there is fullness of joy; in Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. - Psalm 16:11

I started out poor but ended up rich!

Today was such a struggle for me. I woke up at 6 am, like normal, and got ready for my day not knowing if I would work or not. Struggle number one ... I don't think people understand how nerve racking it is to go to bed each night not sure if you'll work the next day or where or what group of kids you'll be with and what you'll be doing. For some people that may be fine. People that enjoy spontaneity and flying by the seat of their pants. Well anybody that knows me knows that's NOT me. I live by a calendar and a time schedule. So yes, that would be struggle number one for today.

I ended up not having to work today which is fine. I enjoy my days off (most days). I thought I'd take time to finish up some projects that I had started. I am working on a Christmas tablescape for my dining room and one thing I am making are glasses with etched snowflakes on them. I got out all the stuff for making the glasses and I realized I had no masking tape. Guess that project would have to wait until later.

Then I pulled out my centers that I began making while student teaching and I thought I'd work on putting those together to use for tutoring when I start that this month. After getting all the papers sorted and organized, I remembered I didn't have any more folders. Again, another project to wait until later.

At this point, I was out of ideas. I read for a little bit. Watched a little T.V. Emptied the dishwasher. Then it was 11am ... I had the whole day ahead of me with nothing to do. It seemed that everything I really desired to do (shop, go out for lunch, make art, decorate my house) all required money. Money that Sam and I don't have. I spent the entire day bored and bummed because we don't have money to spend on new shoes or a new bedspread.

Since when did I become so materialistic?

I have always struggled with boredom. Just as my mom. I'm an only child. We can't entertain ourselves all the time. But when I was little I would color or make jewelry out of flowers. I would put on a CD, dress up, and sing into my hairbrush and pretend to be Reba. In high school, we would spend hours circling our mall maybe buying a $5 pair of earrings. Or we would watch our favorite movies over and over again.

Today, I could not satisfy my boredom. I spent all my energy blaming our finances. I wasted a day pretty much that I could have spent with my husband fishing or taking pictures or playing a game or trying out a new recipe. I wish I could start the day over and learn from my silly decisions. I need to spend less time desiring what I don't have and more time enjoying what I am blessed with!

Romans 10:12 " ... the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him ... "

I refuse to believe that I am poor for the Lord has made me rich!

Maybe I am inspired ...

I think that subbing might not be a good idea for me. No, it's not that I can't handle it or anything. But it is making me think about other possibilities for my future. So today I subbed for an art class and I had a blast! I would have never thought about being a specials teacher before but now, it's a possibility for the future. I have always loved art and making things and being creative. It's one of the reasons I minored in Art History. I wanted to keep art in my life somehow. Maybe this was an eye-opener that I could one day make art with children and teach them about the great artists and inspire them! Maybe.

So I know this is random but I wanted to share the commercial I just saw on TV ... 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LV6puTS14Ho 

Oh yes ... that was on public television. I feel my IQ dropping.

Anyway ... I have not only been inspired about artistic children but also artistic tables! Yes, tables. Like the ones you eat off of. There are these things called tablescapes. There are many women (and men) out there that transform their every day dining room tables into art and I am going to try my hand at it. Here is my main inspiration ... 

Yesterday I went bargain hunting at some dollar stores and thrift shops. I found 6 plates and 5 teacups all for $5.12! The plates are a milk chocolate brown with snowflakes on them and the teacups are a dark brown. I think I am going to do browns, blues, and whites with a snowflake theme. I am so excited! I could possibly do this entire tablescape for less than $30! 

This, my single friends, is what married life does to you. It changes you. You change when you have a house of your own. BEWARE!!

Good Morning, Monday.

So this could quite possibly be the first post of the day. First implying that there might be more than one!  (I set my blog as my homepage so that I would remember I had one! Boy, am I getting smart!)

Rainy Monday morning and I don't have to work. So many things I want to do on my day off! Read, sleep, clean the house, sit at a coffee shop. So many possibilities. Ever since I started working (again), I have really come to appreciate time off. 

P.S.  I am getting tired of hearing about H1N1. Thank you Mr. President for declaring a state of emergency and further scaring Americans. I greatly appreciate it. 

Anyway. I am really struggling with God's sovereignty and trusting in His grand scheme. I feel like Sam and I have been called to a certain ministry and we are serving, faithfully. But there is something holding us back. Something beyond out control. The only thing we can really do it pray about the situation and the people involved. And trust me, we have been. But the obstacle  hasn't been moved, not even a tiny nudge. At this point, we just don't even know what to do. We feel as though we have offended and been offended. Neither of which is good for advancing the Kingdom. *sigh* You'd think after being on IV leadership for three years, leading in the ministry would be a breeze and I'd be great at communication and collaboration.

For Emily!

What in the world would I do without Emjay! I really, really do want to get better at this blog thing. If not for anyone else, or myself, for Emjay. It's always for Emjay!  :)

Let's see ... I feel like all my blogs are updates on my life. I guess that just means I should update more frequently so that I don't have to do these apologies about forgetting my blog and a lengthy life update.  But for now ... here's my apology and my lengthy life update.

Married life is an adjustment, to say the least. There's is twice the laundry to do, twice the amount of dishes to wash, twice the amount of hormones to control and get used to, twice the mess to pick up, twice the opinion to consider. It's not all fun and games folks. There are days when I realize I don't even kiss my husband until it's time for bed! 

But married life also means twice the laughter, twice the silliness, twice the sweet memories. Someone to watch movies with whenever you want, someone to sleep closest to the bedroom door to make you feel like you're protected, someone to eat dinner with, someone to dance with in the kitchen. Yes, I would recommend married life to anyone. 

I still have no teaching position as of yet so I am subbing to make money and get into the school system. Let me just tell you ... subbing is not glamorous. At all. There are two things I have put on the pro side for substituting. One: I get to see many, many different classrooms and steal many, many ideas! Two: I just get to go home when the kids get on the bus. No meetings, no grading, no lesson plans. 

But on the other hand ... I have to be mean sometimes. Kids are crazy. They will try to take advantage of anyone. I feel like subbing will give me some crazy thick skin for when I get my own classroom. Just keep me away from those dern 6th graders!

Alright. That's enough for one night. Plus, it's quickly approaching my bedtime. I'm such an old lady. Time to eat my "midnight" snack of grilled cheese and watch some 'Parks and Recreation' with the hubs. 

Until next time ...   :)

A Little Update

Reading Lindsay's blog reminded me that I have one after all. 

Let's see .... since the last time I wrote many things have happened. I actually did start my bucket list over the break one day while staring out my kitchen window, drinking a cup of coffee. Unfortunately, I left the list at my parent's house. So I will have to update you on that when I get home again. (Which feels like it will never happen) 

Student teaching has flown by. I am officially done, as of tomorrow. Now I just let subjects go, sit, and wait for April 17th to get here. Student teaching has been a great time, for the most part. I can't even sit here and begin to number all the lessons I have learned. However, if I could sum it all up in two words, what I have learned, they would be flexibility and consistency. 

The job market for teachers is still on the fringe and no one knows exactly what is going to happen. I have put in seven resumes back home and I plan on sending each of them another copy in the mail. It's all I can do. I know that getting anxious and paranoid about a job right now makes no sense, seeing as schools don't even know what positions they need to fill until the end of this month. Therefore, I will continue to patiently wait on and trust in Him. 

More later.